BANGOR, Maine — As COVID-19 cases soar, several hospitals throughout Maine are putting in new visitation hours and policies. Starting Friday, Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston will scale back visiting hours and visitors at its hospitals, clinics, and medical practices. As of Wednesday, Maine Medical Center in Portland is operating scaled back visitation requirements.
But, hospitals say they are much better prepared than they were at the beginning of the pandemic.
MaineHealth, the state's largest hospital network says the system has built up its inventory of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, and ventilators since the early days of the pandemic. The system is also working to prioritize patients who are scheduled for time-sensitive procedures if cases continue to rise.
"Rather than shutting everything down, we can dial back things 30 days or 90 days," Joan Boomsma, Chief Medical Officer of MaineHealth said.
More FDA treatments are now available for patients fighting coronavirus-related illness. Hospitals, including Central Maine Medical Center, will soon receive monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19 treatment from federal health officials.
Dr. John Alexander, the Chief Medical Officer of Central Maine Healthcare, says the therapy treats mild to moderate symptoms and could reduce the strain on key hospital resources.
"Really the idea is to try to treat people at high risk before they have to be admitted," Alexander said.
At Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, there are no plans to cancel elective procedures but the system is ready to shift to telehealth if needed. A key concern remains about patients delaying critical routine medical care because of fears over rising cases.
"The hospital is the safest place for anyone to be so we are taking all precautions to keep all our patients safe and keep our staff safe," Dr. Navneet Marwaha, the Vice President and Quality Control Officer at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center said.
Northern Light also has plans underway to properly store supplies of FDA approved vaccines that could be delivered to hospitals in the next several months.
Click here for more information on Central Maine Healthcare's visitor and escort restrictions.